Firing Down in Electric Kiln

While my wood-fired pots have been getting most of the attention on this blog lately, I still fire the electric kiln quite regularly. I unloaded a kiln full of cone 6 pots glazed with a seafoam green glaze that I got from Richard Zakin's book Electric Kiln Ceramics. I think it's called K151 in the book.

A few years ago, I programmed the kiln to "fire down," that is, I slowed the cooling of the kiln from 1900 degrees F. to 1400 degrees. This promotes tiny crystal growth in the glaze and produces a much richer surface on some glazes. It worked a charm on Zakin's glaze, and I love the results.

When I unloaded the electric kiln yesterday, I was surprised to see that the glaze had turned darker than usual, a result of using a different clay body and having the glaze mixed a little thicker than usual I think. The clay is Little Loafer's Glory from Highwater Clay.

This piece blew me away, as I was worried that
the carving might have been obliterated.

Tree Stamp

Tree Stamp

One curvy line